It was discovered in April during the investigation of another leak
of ConsumerAffairs
AT&T has revealed another data breach. The telecom giant says nearly all customers call and text records were exposed in mid-to-late 2022.
The company blames an illegal download on a third-party cloud platform that was uncovered in April during AT&Ts efforts to resolve another, unrelated data breach.
We have taken steps to close off the illegal access point, AT&T said in a statement. We are working with law enforcement in its efforts to arrest those involved in the incident. We understand that at least one person has been apprehended.
Based on its investigation, AT&T has concluded that the compromised data includes files containing AT&T records of calls and texts of nearly all of AT&T's cellular customers, customers of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) using AT&T's wireless network, as well as AT&T's landline customers who interacted with those cellular numbers between May 1, 2022 - October 31, 2022.
The compromised data also includes records from January 2, 2023, for a very small number of customers. The records identify the telephone numbers an AT&T or MVNO cellular number interacted with during these periods.
Whats in the data
The company says the data does not contain the content of calls or texts, personal information such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or other personally identifiable information. It also does not include some typical information you see in your usage details, such as the time stamp of calls or texts.
While the data does not include customer names, there are often ways, using publicly available online tools, to find the name associated with a specific telephone number.
In April, the company said a data set released on the dark web contained AT&T data-specific fields. To stop any potential bleeding, the company reset user passwords.
The data exposed on the dark web contained sensitive information such as names, home addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, along with customer account passcodes.
Consumers might not be the only ones at risk. NextGov.com reports that AT&T provides services for dozens of federal agencies. Among AT&Ts government clients are the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice and State, Defense, Veterans Affairs and agencies in the intelligence community.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2024-07-12 18:46:28
